Upcoming Conference: Co-individuation of Minds, Bodies, Social Organizations and Technè

Call for Papers: General Organology: The Co-individuation of Minds, Bodies, Social Organizations and Technè

“Marking the 20th anniversary of the publication of Bernard Stiegler’s landmark book, La Technique et le temps 1, which first outlined the project of a general organology, this conference aims to survey the range of twentieth-century and contemporary philosophical accounts, scientific theories and technical innovations that intersect an organological dimension. Within this overarching theme, the goal of the conference is to weave together different perspectives and disciplines from neurosciences to ecology, from the digital humanities to psychology, in order to identify and address contemporary issues that twenty-first century philosophies have to consider. The objective is to enrich the philosophical understanding of the interrelations between natural, technological, psychological and social individuations in order to better read our present time and make appropriate plans for the future. With this is mind we underline the philosophical priority of the question of knowledge, without confining it within merely cognitive bounds.

Over the last decade, we have witnessed spectacular progress in two fields of knowledge, namely digital technology and the neurosciences. These two fields of theoretical and practical knowledge are revolutionizing all domains of human life, from economy to health care, from art to politics. Contemporary philosophies are urged to respond to these transformations. Not only are the effects of these phenomena fully transdisciplinary. In as much as digital technologies and brain sciences aspire to transform the human dimension of knowledge, the question of how to transcend neurocentrism and technological determinism remains. Both digital technology and neuroscience are reconfiguring a spectrum of issues with which philosophy has always been concerned, but which it now risks failing to address in their renewed form. These include the notions of desire, memory, imagination, the collective, and the role of writing, grammatization and language itself.”

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Call for Papers

Date: 20-21-22 November 2014

Location: University of Kent, Canterbury, UK.Submission deadline and procedure: 1st May 2014, a 750-1000-character abstract, ready for blind review.

In accordance with the concept of general organology, each section intersects three levels of analysis: the physiological (brains, organs and bodies), the technical body (the ongoing co-evolution of bodies and technè) and psycho-social organizations (psychology, inter-subjectivity, institutions, socio-economics). Since the conference is intended to foster dialogue between all participants on the basis of their contributions, it will be structured as a series of plenary sessions rather than parallel sessions so that all delegates can participate in each event.

The time allocation for presentations will be 40 minutes.

Procedure: Submit your application to [email protected] before May 1st 2014. Place the title page and abstract (750-1000 characters) in two separate .doc files, making sure that all author identification is removed from the abstract itself. A separate title page must be sent and should include: title, name, institution, address, phone number, short biography and main publications.